I Saw You In Sorrow
by Pandora North Star
Summary: 5 Years after Buffy dies we find out how badly Dawn was affected. But will someone be her savior?


I Saw You In Sorrow  
By Pandora North Star  
Rating PG-13  
Notes: Takes place 5 years into the future. I was thinking, how does Dawn feel when she's truly alone?  
Dawn looked at herself in the mirror. But first she wiped away some of the filth. A cracked picture looked back at her. So that was what she had become. An empty shell, hollow and broken. How many years had it been? She looked down. The scars were still there. The clients loved to ask about them.   
There was no scars. There was no past. She looked closer. Her eyes were drooping. Her hair was greasy. Wrinkles touched her skin. Beautiful? Hardly. Not anymore. 19 and in this place. She looked around the room, at the peeling wallpaper and the coffee mugs full of cigarette butts. She stretched one long leg out. It was thin and tan. A California girl. What else was she to do during the day?  
A picture was stuck in the frame, tattered and stained. She pulled it out. Part of a corner was missing. Her fingers ran over the faces. All smiling and healthy looking. Her stomach grumbled and she reached to the mini fridge. There was only a small amount of scotch left. She closed it again.   
*Where had it all gone wrong? The day that SHE had killed herself? Or the day that I found out?* She picked up a sweater and wrapped it around herself then headed for the door. She paused when she heard banging from the room next door. Shouting and screaming followed. She shrank back inside and turned the television on. Same old crap. High heeled sandals were flung back on the floor.  
*What am I doing here?* Each day it happened. She thought about it. It was frightening and almost made her try to start over. Almost. But history was to hard to forget. Someone knocked on the door. She stood up and looked through the hole. The same guy was back again? She opened the door.  
"Hey dollface. You up for some hanky panky?" She let him in without saying a word and gave herself up to him, pretending to be a void. Easy enough when she was made to complete one. Her purpose. Something she didn't have anymore. A key without a lock and a person without a friend.  
Where had they all gone? Who knows. The Day destroyed them all, so much to the point they drew away from each other and she was left alone. Almost. She missed her blond companion. Almost a father. Up until he had protected her to his death. Then she didn't know what to do.   
She screamed. He was rough. She pushed him away. Mentally. All was still inside. No tears. She responded without any thought. He left leaving money. She stood up again. It was quiet outside. The night air was cooler. She kept her head high and ignored the cat calls. Her stomach ached. She entered a Chinese food place that was open late and ate.   
Then out the window she heard a tapping. She looked over. Someone ran inside.  
"Dawny? Is that you?" She looked away from the long lost friend. "Dawny? Are you alright?" she squirmed in her seat. This could make her cry. Not them.  
"Yes. It's me. Yes. I'm fine. Thank you for asking. Goodbye."   
"Im not going anywhere."  
"Fine." She shrugged and pushed her chair away from the table.   
"And neither are you."   
"Don't feign to care. It's pathetic."  
"How dare you I say I don't care. Do you know how much we searched for you after you disappeared? We were all trying to cope. We searched and searched."  
"Didn't search long enough."  
"Why did you do this to your life?" A hand cupped hers. She snatched it away so they couldn't touch it again.   
*Keep up the glare. Don't let them in. They'll only hurt you more.* She frowned harder. "What life? I was made...Remember?" Their face fell. Yeah. She was right.   
"No matter how you got here, you're here. I can't imagine. Dawny, the years you've spent alone." They were about to cry. She stood up. They weren't going to make her cry. How dare they.   
"I wasn't alone, always. I had Spike." Yes. A tear. A rough hand pushed it away. "Why am I still here. Bye." Money was thrust to the table and she walked away. The person sitting at the table stayed. Once outside she walked into the alley and stumbled on her too high shoes.   
Tears welled up in her eyes and hiccups burst from her mouth. She wrapped her arms around herself. It wasn't very safe there, but what did she care? What did she care? A figure stepped into the light.  
"Please, Dawn, come home with me now? You don't have do this anymore."They were crying too. Stoic tears reserved for the worst moments.   
"Angel, I-" And then she fell into his arms. He held her close and stroked her head.   



End file.
